Hunters help boy win big at DU event

South Dakota elementary student benefits from the kindness of strangers

Pack Forster (center) wins gun, print with help from his new friends

Greyson Pack Forster had a big night.

The nine-year-old Howard, South Dakota, boy walked into his first Ducks Unlimited banquet this fall carrying his own money. His dad, Brian, says Pack generally has more money in his pocket than he does.

The competition was steep but, thanks to the kindness of strangers, this elementary kid walked away with print and a gun.

“It was pretty unbelievable when you meet people and they show that kind of generosity and their excitement to have kids involved in Ducks Unlimited. The kindness was overwhelming,” Pack’s mother, Renee, said.

Pack set his sights on winning a Legacy Greenwing print of lab puppies that came with a membership good until he is 21-years-old. The winning bidder, an out-of-state hunter, realized he had been bidding against a boy, so he gave it to Pack. Another member of the hunter’s group gave Pack a decoy connected to a raffle where Pack won a gun.

A third member of the party gave him another decoy. Pack gave it to his 14-year-old brother, Justice, who won a fishing pole.

“After I won the gun and picture, I wanted him to get in on some fun too,” Pack said.

His parents describe Pack as a kind but shrewd coin collector, like his brother. He has also started collecting stamps.

“When we go to a coin auction, the boys get their own numbers. Once, Pack was in the process of buying a coin from me while he was on the phone selling it,” Brian said. “We just came from the dental clinic, and Pack has already traded tooth brushes with his brother.”

Justice is an expert trap shooter and has shot 25 in a row. Pack could hardly wait to follow in his footsteps and is now shooting with a 20-guage shotgun. He’ll need to grow some to use the 12-guage he won at the banquet.

The boys grew up hunting and fishing with their grandfather and parents.

“It’s important. Whenever it all gets a little expensive, I always think of the bumper sticker that says, ‘Take your kids hunting and you’ll never have to hunt for your kids,’” Brian said.